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James Maxwell Ross Cormack and Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond

Abdera, a flourishing Greek city east of the Nestus river on the coast of *Thrace (Diod. Sic. 13. 72. 2). It was traditionally founded as a colony of *Clazomenae in 654 bce, a date for which ...
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Abdera, a flourishing Greek city east of the Nestus river on the coast of *Thrace (Diod. Sic. 13. 72. 2). It was traditionally founded as a colony of *Clazomenae in 654 bce, a date for which 7th-cent. Greek pottery affords some support. It was reoccupied by colonists from *Teos (among them *Anacreon) in the second half of the 6th cent. (Hdt. 1. 168; Pind. Paean 2); its site was near Bulustra, a corruption of the name it bore in the Middle Ages, Polystylon. Like *Aenus, Abdera owed its wealth (it was the third richest city in the *Delian League, with a contribution of 15 talents) to its corn production (see the coins), and to the fact that it was a port for the trade of inland Thrace and especially of the Odrysian rulers. Abdera was a resting-place for the army of Xerxes in 480 bce when it was marching to invade Greece (Hdt.Less

Simon Hornblower

Was probably a 7th-cent. colony of *Andros (Thuc. 4. 84) near the narrowest point of the Akte prong of *Chalcidice, and thus close to the canal dug in 480 bce on the orders of *Xerxes I of Persia ...
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Was probably a 7th-cent. colony of *Andros (Thuc. 4. 84) near the narrowest point of the Akte prong of *Chalcidice, and thus close to the canal dug in 480 bce on the orders of *Xerxes I of Persia (Hdt. 7. 22; Thuc. 4. 109); at this time it was an important Persian base. It remained loyal to Athens for much of the 5th cent. (paying a normal tribute of 3 talents in the *Delian League), until 424 when it was famously seduced by the rhetoric of the Spartan *Brasidas (Thuc. 4.85–7 for the speech, a tour de force), though Thuc. also drily notes (4. 88) that the Acanthians were concerned for their grape-vintage which Brasidas had threatened to destroy. Thuc. 4. 124. 1 (separate mention of Acanthians and Chalcidians in Brasidas' army) implies that like *Torone, Acanthus was not at this time a member of the Chalcidic League (see chalcidice).Less

W. M. Murray

Acarnania, a district of NW Greece, bounded by the Lonian Sea, the gulf of Ambracia, and the *Acheloüs river. The district is divided into three main regions: (1) a rugged coast with small bays and ...
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Acarnania, a district of NW Greece, bounded by the Lonian Sea, the gulf of Ambracia, and the *Acheloüs river. The district is divided into three main regions: (1) a rugged coast with small bays and small alluvial plains,(2) a mountainous interior range that parallels the coast from north-west to south-east, and(3) small plains between the mountains and the Acheloüs river to the east.Although Neolithic, early Helladic, and late Helladic remains have been located near Astacus and elsewhere, evidence for widespread prehistoric settlement is lacking. Homer seems ignorant of the region except as a part of the shadowy ‘mainland’ inside *Ithaca, although names like Melite and Marathus may point to *Phoenician seafarers using this coast for shelter on their westward voyages. Significant Greek influence began during the 7th cent. bce when *Corinth settled Anactorium, Sollium, and Leucas and when (soon thereafter?) *Cephallenia settled Astacus. *Thucydides (2) mentions settlements at Alyzeia, Astacus, Coronta, Limnaea, Medion, *Oeniadae, Palaerus, Phytia (Phoetiae), and Stratus, some of which were surely fortified poleis (Oeniadae, Stratus, Astacus, Palaerus).Less

Catherine A. Morgan

Region on the north-east of the Peloponnese, between the Corinthian Gulf and the Chelmos and Panachaikon mountains. Historically a federation of small territories (Paus. 7).Achaea was settled from ...
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Region on the north-east of the Peloponnese, between the Corinthian Gulf and the Chelmos and Panachaikon mountains. Historically a federation of small territories (Paus. 7).Achaea was settled from the palaeolithic period. During the late bronze age, numerous graves plus settlements (e.g. Aegira and Katarraktis) and the fortification of Teichos Dymaion indicate extensive activity (see ahhiyawa). Geometric settlement has been found along the coast (including an 8th.-cent. temple at Aegira) and inland (the Pharae valley). Achaeans may have joined the Ionian migration; Achaean colonies include *Sybaris (720 bce), *Croton (708), *Metapontum, *Caulonia (all in Italy) and *Scione (in *Chalcidice). See colonization, greek.According to Herodotus (1. 145), Achaea was divided into 12 merides each containing seven or eight dēmoi (cf. Polyb. 2. 41. 7). These comprise Pellene (the seat of games noted by Pindar), Helice, Bura, Aegira, Aegae, *Aegium, Rhypes, *Patrae, Pharae, Olenus, *Dyme, and Tritaea.Less

Antony Spawforth

(correct spelling: J. Oliver, The Civic Tradition and Roman Athens (1983) 152 note 6), official name for the Roman province of *Greece, commemorating Rome's defeat of the *Achaean Confederacy in 146 ...
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(correct spelling: J. Oliver, The Civic Tradition and Roman Athens (1983) 152 note 6), official name for the Roman province of *Greece, commemorating Rome's defeat of the *Achaean Confederacy in 146 bce (Paus. 7. 16. 20). After its initial and temporary formation by Caesar (46 bce), Augustus re-established it as a separate province (27 bce); joined to *Moesia in ce 15, it was detached in 44, ‘freed’ by Nero in 67, and definitively reconstituted by Vespasianc.70. Its early boundaries were unstable, including *Epirus and perhaps *Thessaly (by c.150 the former was a separate province, the latter part of *Macedonia). A public province, it was normally governed by junior (praetorian) proconsuls, upgraded under Constantine I to consulares. Although the procurator from Augustus on resided at *Corinth, the proconsuls were itinerant (e.g. Philostr. VA 8. 23), with residences attested at *Olympia (Paus.Less

Charles William John Eliot and Simon Hornblower

Acharnae, the largest Attic *deme. (The figure of 3,000 hoplites at Thuc. 2. 20. 4, cf. 21. 3, may be too high; 1,200 is likelier and a possible emendation; another is that πολῖται should ...
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Acharnae, the largest Attic *deme. (The figure of 3,000 hoplites at Thuc. 2. 20. 4, cf. 21. 3, may be too high; 1,200 is likelier and a possible emendation; another is that πολῖται should be read for ὁπλῖται, ‘citizens’ not ‘hoplites’). It lay around Menidi in the NW corner of the Attic plain, near the pass from the Thriasian plain along which *Archidamus II and the Spartans marched in 431 bce. It is possible that Acharnae was divided into two demes for some purposes, making the total of known demes 140 not 139; but this is disputed. Although famous as charcoal-burners in *Aristophanes (1) (Ach.), the Acharnians lived primarily by growing corn and cultivating vines and olives. They were also famously brave (Pind. Nem. 2. 16) and had, appropriately, a sanctuary to *Ares: whether the temple was moved to the Athenian Agora in the Roman period is debated.

Arthur Geoffrey Woodhead and R. J. A. Wilson

Acrae (near mod. Palazzolo Acreide), founded by *Syracuse in 663 bce (Thuc. 6. 5. 3), stands on a hill protected by steep cliffs, commanding the westward route from the Syracusan plain. ...
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Acrae (near mod. Palazzolo Acreide), founded by *Syracuse in 663 bce (Thuc. 6. 5. 3), stands on a hill protected by steep cliffs, commanding the westward route from the Syracusan plain. It enjoyed local self-government, but its fortunes were throughout its history linked with those of its metropolis. A late Archaic temple is known on the acropolis, but other known monuments are Hellenistic: a theatre, perhaps built under *Hieron (2) II, a bouleutērion, and a paved artery linking this with the agora. The series of extramural rock-cut reliefs in honour of *Cybele is unique. Also of note is a Hellenistic inscription found near Acrae, variously interpreted as oracular or as part of an epic poem. Acrae declined under the empire, but extensive *catacombs reveal it as still inhabited in the 4th and 5th cent. ce.

John Buckler

Acraephnium (mod. Karditza), city in NE *Boeotia, located above a small bay of Lake *Copais; perhaps the Homeric Arne. Fortifications and cemeteries have been excavated, the latter ...
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Acraephnium (mod. Karditza), city in NE *Boeotia, located above a small bay of Lake *Copais; perhaps the Homeric Arne. Fortifications and cemeteries have been excavated, the latter revealing splendid examples of early painted pottery. It entered the Boeotian Confederacy in 447 bce, and by 395 bce joined with *Copae and *Chaeronea to form one unit. It provided the Thebans with shelter after *Alexander (3) the Great destroyed their city in 335 bce (see thebes (1)). In the wake of anti-Roman sentiment in 196 bce, Appius Claudius attacked the city. A long inscription details the benefactions of Epaminondas, a local magnate (mid-1st cent. ce), including repair of the Copais-dike protecting the civic land from flood. The *Ptoion was in Acraephnium's territory.

Arthur Geoffrey Woodhead and R. J. A. Wilson

Was founded c.580 bce by the Geloans (see gela) in Sican territory in central southern Sicily. One of the most substantial Hellenic cities in size and affluence, it occupied a large bowl of land, ...
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Was founded c.580 bce by the Geloans (see gela) in Sican territory in central southern Sicily. One of the most substantial Hellenic cities in size and affluence, it occupied a large bowl of land, rising to a lofty acropolis on the north and protected on the other by a ridge. Its early acquisition of power was owed to the tyrant *Phalaris. In 480*Theron was the ally of *Gelon in his victory at *Himera. After expelling Thrasydaeus, Theron's son, Acragas had a limited democratic government, in which *Empedocles, its most famous citizen, took part in his generation. Acragantine 6th- and 5th-cent. prosperity is attested by a remarkable series of temples, the remains of which are among the most impressive of any Greek city, and by its extensive, wealthy necropoleis. Sacked by the Carthaginians in 406, Acragas revived to some extent under *Timoleon and Phintias (286–280 bce), but suffered much in the Punic Wars.Less

W. M. Murray

Actium (Ἄκτιον), a flat sandy promontory at the entrance to the Ambracian Gulf, forming part of the territory of Anactorium, as well as the NW extremity of *Acarnania. A cult of Apollo was located ...
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Actium (Ἄκτιον), a flat sandy promontory at the entrance to the Ambracian Gulf, forming part of the territory of Anactorium, as well as the NW extremity of *Acarnania. A cult of Apollo was located here as early as the 6th cent. bce to judge from the torsos of two archaic kouroi found on the cape in 1867. At this time, or soon thereafter, a temple stood on a low hill near the tip of the promontory where games were celebrated in honour of the god as late as the end of the 3rd cent. bce. In 31 bce the cape was the site of M. *Antonius (2)'s camp, and gave its name to the naval battle, fought just outside the gulf, in which he was defeated by *Octavian (2 September). A few years later, when Octavian founded *Nicopolis (3) on the opposite (northern) side of the strait, he took care to enlarge Apollo's sanctuary at Actium by rebuilding the old temple and adding a monumental naval trophy (not to be confused with the naval trophy he dedicated at Nicopolis). In ship-sheds constructed in the sacred grove at the base of the hill, he dedicated a set of ten captured warships, one from each of the ten classes that had fought in the battle (Strabo 7. 7. 6). Although the ships and their ship-sheds were gone (destroyed by fire) by the time Strabo composed his account, recent excavations have located the site where the kouroi were found in 1867 and have confirmed the location of the temple, obscured for many years.Less